i get carried away when i get to practice..i wind up going at it for 4+ hrs a day, on my days off of work,,and 1.5-2.0 hrs a day when im not to wiped out from work.. i usually play til my armature gets weak...i cant help it..i get going,, i cant stop...im having too much fun,,am i insane???? lol..what is a healthy practice time amount ?????

PJ:
I try to practice at least an hour every day. I've been doing a little more lately since I've got the NAMM show coming up, along with the Saxophone Smackdown in February. I have been working in the Universal Method by Paul Deville and with the Ferling Etudes.

thankyou for getting back to me steve,,i gues im going at it too far..hahaha.i bet you and sharon are real buisy..as far as the smackdown goes,,my gut tells me you will do just fine,,{look at the product your using} it dont get any better than that.... i bet you wish there was a saxophone designer to the stars when you were a younger man..hahahaha... but let me tell you,, we have one now!!!! and he is no joke man..as far as the namm show goes,, i thought it was a winter, and summer event in so.cal. i figured wrong..only in the winter..i will plan for 2011..for sure..im bummed out about it too..just do me a favor boss,, keep on building those 400,s and cat 5,s so i can get to see one in person..if i had one of those horns,,i would probably fry my armature in one sitting...hahahahahahaha

I think it is important to put some real structure into your scheduled practicing, and to keep ncareful written records of your progress. I was taught that you should work on a variety of issues at once, including technique, scales, tone, pitch, and repetoire. All are important aspects of becoming a successful musician, and none should be neglected.

It's the quantity of what you practice, but the quality will take you a long way.

I think you should always set specific goals for what you want to accomplish with your practicing, things like specific metronome settings. I also think it is a good idea to record your practice sessions, because the tape doesn't lie.